A dose of a different culture...

Last week a friend and I made an expedition to H Mart, a big Asian grocery chain with a Korean bent and a store not far from here. It's the kind of place that is simply overwhelming to the uninitiated, like me, who are not looking for anything in particular, but going more for the experience of it.



We began with produce, where things were mostly recognizable. At last, a source for baby bok choy! From there we wandered through the fish section, over to meat, and then up and down the grocery aisles. There were rows of noodles of all kinds, teas, standard western fare, which looked out of place, household items, and on and on. There was not one kind of sesame oil to choose from as there is in the local Pathmark, which makes shopping for it fast and eay, but a choice between brands and dark sesame oil, and black sesame oil and wild sesame oil. And then the section of dried seaweed, dried plants that I hoped were not for eating, but I think were, freeze-dried squid strips, etc. I had no idea how to choose between the varieties of noodles, so I chose none.

We came at last to the frozen food section where I was determined to take home some dumplings. But there again was the issue. I could read no list of ingredients and had a hard time choosing between one kind of meat dumpling and another. In the end I chose a few packages where I understood the preparation instructions and enjoyed them when I tasted them.

In the end I left H-Mart almost as overwhelmed as I walked in. I'm glad I went with a friend as we gave each other courage to try some things we otherwise never would have.

Would I go again? In a heartbeat. Now that I know what they have and what to expect, I can pretend to be a slightly more educated consumer.

And then there is that sesame candy that's been haunting my thoughts for a week now...